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Got flu questions? County beefs up the hotline

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, Public Health’s Flu Hotline at 877-903-5464 will provide expanded service by offering callers an opportunity to speak with registered nurses. Hotline nurses will tell callers how to manage their symptoms at home, tell them if they need to see a doctor or health care provider and answer other medical questions about H1N1 flu. The Flu Hotline number is 1-877-903 KING (5464).

Also tomorrow, perhaps coincidentally, county political leaders plan a media briefing to “call for state legislators to provide dedicated public health funding to help counties statewide.”

2 Replies to "Got flu questions? County beefs up the hotline"

Considering that, as of Tuesday May 5th, there’s been a grand total of one documented death from swine influenza in the whole United States as compared to, say, an average of 35,000+ deaths every year from traffic accidents, I have decided to tempt fate and not call the public health hotline just yet. Here’s hoping that the news media and government agencies will keep tabs on the public health threat without drumming up more needless panic about a flu strain that hasn’t directly caused more than one death nationwide.